Yet Another Ruby Question...measurements

I am curious about the proportions of those of you who have Rubies.

I am 5'6" with a 28.5/29" inseam. Legs aren't long.

Does anyone else with my type of proportions have and love a Ruby?

I have really small hands, so if I buy a men's bike, I will need to spend a good bit extra for bars and levers.Curious to know if any short-legged women have/love Rubies, and if so, did you have to mess with different stems, etc.

I know I have to go ride a lot of bikes, but I'm just curious.

Edited to add: There are few bike shops where I live, and one in particular I would like to give my business to if possible. They carry Specialized, and that is why I am asking specifically about the Ruby.

You may find that a non-WSD like the Tarmac or Roubaix fits you better. I'm the opposite of you. I have a 28.5/29ish inseam, but I'm only 5' even. The Ruby fits me well as it has a pretty short top tube for its size. With your longer torso the Ruby may feel cramped and small for you - but you never know until you try it.

Unless you've tried regular levers and they really don't work for you, I wouldn't discount them right away. I have several bikes, one (Not my Ruby) does have the "short reach" levers on it. To tell the truth I don't find them to be any easier to use or smaller feeling than any of my normal ones, and I don't have huge hands (lets face it at 5' nothing I don't have huge anything....). If you have narrow shoulders you may need to swap bars, but I'd hope that the shop would do that fairly inexpensively or even free for you if you are buying the bike new.

I'm in between you two. 5'3" and 28" inseam. I tried the 47 (I think) Ruby last month and it felt ok. Didn't get fitted though so I'm really not much help.

LB - was it a 47 or a 49"???

I am 5'5" with a 29" inseam. I ride a 48 Ruby and absolutely love it. It fits me perfectly, like it was custom made for me. It is the compact double that I am trying to get used to.

At 5'6" with a 29" inseam, you obviously have a long torso (like me)...but how long are your arms? Mine are short, so even though my torso is long, my reach is not. I rode a Dolce Comp for over a year and it fit me pretty well. I also have a 28.5"/29" inseam (I'm just over 5'4"), but with my short arms, I still needed a shorter top tube (I had a 44cm). I'm thinking that if you have longer arms, it might feel too cramped for you. In that case, you might be better off with a non-WSD bike in a smaller size.

Hmmm . . . I think the WSD-type bikes like the Ruby are made for people with longer legs and shorter torsos - at least that is how I am built and I love my Ruby. I am 5'2" (on a "tall" day) and ride a 48" Ruby with an 80mm stem - interesting to see that nonsmoker3 is 3" taller than me and rides the same size Ruby. Just goes to show you have to get on the bike to see if it fits you . . .

I'm 5' 3.5" and ride a 51 cm Ruby. I have a 30" inseam, short torso, and a long reach. My previous road bike was a 47cm Allez which fit pretty well. The other think I love about the Ruby is the way the bars are sized for a woman. You mentioned that you have small hands, so you will love the way the bars are sized and shaped. I can ride the hoods and reach the brakes/shifters or I can ride in the drops and reach them as well.

I'm willing to bet that you can be fit on a Ruby.

Thank you, this is interesting to me. I suspect a men's frame is better for me (although I have never measured my arms...really don't know how long they are!).

I currently have Shimano 105 levers and although not women's bars, some fairly shallow bars. I still have my brakes double shimmed, and it is not ideal braking, although nice to reach the levers. The short reach set-ups I have felt in the bike shops feel better to me. My longest finger is barely 3" long, and the others are at least a 1/2 in shorter. Most of my fingers are like 2.5 inches long!

So, I'm trying to avoid too much customizing...

Anyhow, just was curious if anyone with a long torso like me fits their Ruby well. Thanks!

Edited to add: Eden, yes, the Tarmac and Roubaix are both on my list to test. Thansk!

I too am 5'6" with a 29" or so inseam. I have a 51cm Ruby Pro and love it!

I'm about 5'3 and my inseam (to the ground, not to the ankle) is 29. I ride a 51 cm Ruby and I love it....I had a fitting done where they adjusted the saddle fore/aft position, dropped the stem angle, and rotated the bars a little bit to fine-tune the reach, and it works beautifully for me.

I think I'd also have been OK getting a smaller (47 or 48 cm) men's frame, but had I done so I'd probably have had to replace the handlebars to get something narrower and with more shallow drops, as well as shimming the brakes for easier reach.

Just goes to show how different everyone - even with some of the same measurements can be - and why you really can not fit a bike based on standover.

I ride a 44cm- sounds much smaller than most of you here, though my inseam (yup to the ground) is nearly the same as most of you and I have an 80cm stem on it to make it even smaller. I have seriously stubby arms! My hands sound pretty much the same size as Starfish's, yet I feel good with regular levers (this may just be from many years of using them and being adapted) and I know I don't like bars with "ergo bumps" and especially those with a shallow drop - I find them to be quite uncomfortable and I bang my forearms up on them.

I'm not a believer that the Ruby is made only for the short-waisted/long legged types. I'm exactly the opposite in that I have a very short inseam 27.5 and the short TT still fits my longer torso. In contrast to Eden's 80mm stem, I have a 90mm, with compact drop bars on my 44cm.

Also, I probably have more spacers on the headtube than she does because my Ruby is set up as a pure climber. (I run a 34/50 compact with a 12-27 in the back. Plus, I have an optional 1295g wheelset with a 13-29 Record cassette.) Having a less aggressive setup, I can get away with the longer torso/shorter TT.

My small hands could never get around Shimano, even with the shims. I fell in love with the Campy thumb shifters the first time I rode them. When I have my hands on the hoods and I'm standing on a climb, I can easily shift a cog or two with my thumb to give me more power. I could never do that with my Shimano levers without breaking my flow.

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Originally Posted by Bluetree

My small hands could never get around Shimano, even with the shims. I fell in love with the Campy thumb shifters the first time I rode them. When I have my hands on the hoods and I'm standing on a climb, I can easily shift a cog or two with my thumb to give me more power. I could never do that with my Shimano levers without breaking my flow.

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Did you buy a Ruby frame and build it up, or was Campy an option when you ordered?

I spent an hour in my LBS today, and we did some measurements and just generally got the ball rolling on starting to see where I might land. I'll have to go out of town to test some bikes. But, we suspect if I fit a Ruby, it is likely to be a 54. (He could have ordered me a 2007 Ruby Pro today for $3000, but they didn't have a 54...and of course, I hadn't tested yet, but I was prepared to run to Seattle to test this weekend!)

Anyhow, I actually measured my fingers tonight. My longest, my middle, is 2-7/8", and my index finger is 2-5/8" long.

Anyhow, I think I'm about ready to go to Seattle and try out a Ruby, a Roubaix, and a Tarmac. I would really like to find a bike my LBS could order for me, if possible. I'm thinking of getting some new shoes and peddles now, and maybe the bike next September to take advantage of pricing (unless everything just fell together now).

$3000 for a 2007??? I hope that's for the Pro. I got the 2007 Expert earlier this year for much less than $3000. You should be able to get them for even less now that the 2008's are out.

I too have short fingers and have the max number of shims in my Shimanos - they work just fine for me. I did swap out for narrower handlebars and a shorter stem though.

Good luck in your search! :)

Okay, I had to measure my fingers too, and I can't believe we're measuring the same way, because my hands aren't that big (and I actually get a variation of more than 3/4" depending on how I measure).

This is worse than frame sizes!

Center to top (center of MCP joint to end of finger)? Flex the MCP joint, straighten the IP joints and measure from the proximal end of the MCP joint? Splay the fingers and measure from the webbing? Be specific! :D :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Starfish

Did you buy a Ruby frame and build it up, or was Campy an option when you ordered?

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I bought the frame and built it up myself.

Unfortunately, few women's bikes come equipped with Campy Chorus or Record (Specialized no exception) and the total costs of a self-build ends up costing much more than buying a whole bike with comparable parts.

On the positive side, I didn't care for the stock wheels, saddle, or handlebars so I was able to build up my Ruby with exactly what I wanted.

P.S. Frame-only options:
For 2008 Specialized added the module-only option of the Ruby-Comp for about $1300. In 2007, when I bought my frame, all they offered was the S-Works for $3300.

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Originally Posted by michelem

$3000 for a 2007??? I hope that's for the Pro.

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Yes, the Pro, with full DA.

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Originally Posted by oakleaf

Okay, I had to measure my fingers too...Be specific!

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First, we are NOT worse than men, believe me! (Whatever worse means...) :p ;) :rolleyes:

I don't know what an MCP joint is. I hold my hand up flat in front of me (like vertically, in front of my face, looking at the edge of my hand, with the thumb towards me). I tilt the finger I want to measure (say the middle finger, my longest ;) ) just a centimeter or two down, toward my palm, keeping the finger straight. I measure from the base of the finger, in the little crease where the finger tilts...to the tip.

I think if I measured the top of the finger, from the knuckle on the back of my hand, to the tip, I would add about .5 inch to the overal length. I guess I measured the underside because when I put my hand on the bar, that underside is really what has to reach around the bar to the levers.

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Originally Posted by Starfish

I guess I measured the underside because when I put my hand on the bar, that underside is really what has to reach around the bar to the levers.

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That makes sense.

Just to clarify, hand bones are metacarpals and finger bones are phalanges. Thumb is #1, pinky is #5. So the joint between the palm and the finger is the metacarpo-phalangeal or MCP joint. All the fingers except the thumb have two interphalangeal joints, proximal and distal or PIP and DIP.

Measuring that way, I get 3-1/8" for my middle finger and 2-7/8" for the index finger on the left, about 1/8" shorter on the right. So a bit longer than your fingers but in the same ballpark!

When I measure that way, I don't have a single finger that manages to nudge past 2.75". Short, stumpy little fingers have I...heh.

Aah, Oakleaf, thanks for the education. Now I know!

And, Dex, that's right...we are in the same ballpark. I still might take you up on your offer of checking out your bars and levers when I come to Seattle to test bikes.

Another question for all you Ruby women.

I am looking for a new bike and think I have settled on the Tarmac, I like the more aggressive positioning, where I feel that the Ruby is set up more like the Roubaix- so more of a distance bike.

Is this true? The LBS doesn't have a Ruby in, in my size, at the moment so I haven't riden one, only the Tarmac- which I love.

Is the Ruby deceiving? Is it more aggresive then it looks? I would love to hear all your opinions.

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Originally Posted by ehirsch83

I am looking for a new bike and think I have settled on the Tarmac, I like the more aggressive positioning, where I feel that the Ruby is set up more like the Roubaix- so more of a distance bike.

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You are correct, Emily, the Ruby is modeled after the Roubaix. However, I've seen a number of smaller women crit racers with Rubies because the Tarmac does not go down so far in size. Taller women racers on Tarmacs? Yes!

Unless I find a more aggressive racing bike in my size (unlikely) I plan on modifying my Ruby for crits later this year.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ehirsch83

I am looking for a new bike and think I have settled on the Tarmac, I like the more aggressive positioning, where I feel that the Ruby is set up more like the Roubaix- so more of a distance bike.

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I don't know this from any experience...just what the bike shop guy told me as we were comparing all the geometry numbers with the Ruby, the Roubaix, and the Tarmac (I'm also interested in the Tarmac). He said the Ruby fell somewhere between the Roubaix and the Tarmac.

I stand corrected. You are right, Starfish. I spoke with my Specialized guy and he said the same. However, the name "Ruby" was an offshoot of the word "Roubaix" when they designed it. Also, the Roubaix is not considered just a long-distance bike. Many use it for hilly road racing, esp the S-Works.

...Darn, I wish I was taller. He's selling an S-Works track bike with DA cranks/Zipp 404 tubulars for $2400. But it's a 56. :(

EDIT: I got an email back from my other Specialized guy:

The Ruby is really in a class of it's own, but in reality, it's between the two in terms of positioning. If I were to place it closer in design to one or the other, it would be the Roubaix. I have not heard of any plans to introduce a Tarmac WSD, but it doesn't mean it won't happen. Specialized keeps any new designs very close to their chests until they want the press to release the information about anything new to the public. If I hear anything at all, I will surely let you know.

In the really small sizes (like mine and Bluetree's) its pretty difficult to get a really aggressive position period - if you want to keep the bigger wheels you are kind of limited (and even with 650's its only marginally better) as to how low you can get the handlebars, because you can only make the head tube so short....... On most (probably all?!) of my bikes the down tube and the top tube pretty much meet, so its not like I could get those bars down futher. A Terry style bike with differently sized wheels would make it possible to get lower, but wouldn't be legal for races. I've given myself a little more drop by putting an angled stem on.

Eden - I think I read somewhere that the Madone 5.1 is a more aggressive bike than the Ruby. Do you know if that's true?

I'm not sure - I think I compared the geometries side by side once and they are very slightly different, but I don't really know how it would affect the feel and handling.

(I looked again - on the smallest size, the Madone's head tube is longer than the Ruby's (so I'd think that would put it more upright???) - but a lot of things are slightly different, and I can't really picture the whole - I'd have to see them side by side)